Trendy|DNA
                                           

By philliptorrone

DNA Hack is website for Amateur Genetic Engineering. The site has tons of resources, supplies, how-tos and this interesting snippet from Michael Schrage in the June 2003 Technology Review: “Maybe bathtub biotech will be the next to capture the mindshare of the techie tinkerers. Maybe bioinformatics and the diffusion of genetic engineering technologies will inspire a new generation of bio-hackers. Certainly the technologies are there for those inclinded to genetically edit their plants or pets. Maybe a mouse or E. coli genome becomes the next operating system for hobbyists to profitably twiddle. Perhaps this decade will bring a Linus Torvalds or Bill Gates of bio-hackerdom — a hobbyist-turned-entrepreneur who can simultaneously innovate and market his or her DNA-driven ideas.” Link.

[By MAKE]

By philliptorrone on DIY Projects

Is there anything LEGOs can’t do? The idea of building a working Rubik Cube has always appealed. Here the challenge is to create a mechanical device that has a number of degrees of freedom about a central point. It’s not easy! The cube consists of 12 edge pieces, 8 corner pieces and one central piece. All of these have to be interlocking, yet still be able to rotate about any axis at any time in any direction. Link.

Cory Doctorow:

This Worth1000 contest asks photoshoppers to dummy up images of modern products in antique contexts, like this digital camera shooting a fifties-style black-and-white portrait photo.

Link

Animated gifs with embedded MP3s that play in WinAMP? OH YEAH! We’ve got an AOTS gif just for you right here.

Want to make your own? Here’s how you can add an MP3 to any GIF file.
 
For the following commands, replace file.mp3 and file.gif
with the names of your MP3 and GIF files. Unix, Linux, and Mac users
note that the command below will overwrite your original gif with the
new gif.
 
Unix, Linux, & Mac OS X Users:
Enter this ‘concatenate’ command into a terminal window:
cat file.mp3 >> file.gif
 
To learn more about concatenate, type:
man cat
 
Windows Users:
Open a Command Prompt window and enter this command:
copy /b file.gif + file.mp3 newfile.gif
 
You’ll be able to view your GIF in a browser and play it in Winamp by dragging and dropping the file!

Here are some examples –> (Video) (sound)

As seen on AOTS

okay for all of you that dont have any technical skills just follow this step by step guide How to become an Artist, and wala your an “artist”!

Here’s a DIY teleprompter for the folks out there who are using web cams to do videoblogging or recording themselves speaking. It’s pretty simple, a couple CD cases and some HTML and you’re good to go. I think as we start using video conferencing more it might be a neat project to put all sorts of things on there, like instant messages, widgets, slides or maybe a RSS ticker, maybe not. Link.

[Via Make]

David Pescovitz:

PostSecret is a mail art project where you’re invited to send in an
anonymous postcard with a “secret” written on it. The submissions are
then shared on a blog. This is even more engaging than the old classic Not Proud!
After just four months, the organizers have posted lots of heavy,
funny, creepy, interesting, and real secrets.

Post Secret

Link (via the f blog + boingboing)

by Greg Tate

How much oxygen did your furniture produce today? In our version of
the future, the things we loaf about on indoors will be as beneficial
as the stuff that grows out back. In the meantime, sculpt lawn
furniture from the lawn itself. Unlike your standard-issue sofa, this
lush greenery is totally organic, requires no synthetic finishes, and
can be brought to life, Golem-style, from salvaged dirt. St. Augustine
tiles create a seamless, living upholstery, or try wheatgrass for a
durable alternative. Ask your nursery about planting tips unique to
your sod. Note: Couch may require mowing. Read more…

[Via readymademag]

The May 2005 issue of Popluar Science has an article on Munich’s annual Recorder Race.
It’s a competition of classic “Walkman/Boom Boxes/Ghettoblasters” that
have been modified with wheels, gears, spoilers, etc. so that they can
race each other down a 15m gym floor powered by their tape drive
mechanisms. Obviously they would all want to run in “fast forward”
mode. Here are the Recorder Race mission and rules.

[Via laughingsquid]

Why create audio devices that are beautiful and sound incredible when you can create audio devices that essentially are horrible looking and sound like someone screaming into a Quaker Oats box? Don’t ask us. Ask some kid named Chay. This musical abortion contains a speaker, a mini-amp, and a battery. He’s offering to sell it, if you want to give it a good home.

Speaker Cone [Breakbeaterro via Music Thing + gizmodo]